Rippling Time
i don't know what i was trying to do with this story. enjoy. brief mention of gore + death The first bits of awareness came with a sound. Beep.... beep... beep... beep... And then there was more. Clicking. A soft whir. Gentle tapping. More whirring. Noises that slowly seeped in, convincing the soul there was a world outside. The noises were fans, talons touching metal, a machine measuring something. At least, that's what the conscience managed to drag up, information on this world it had yet to experience. Blackness, that's all it saw. It could move. A single, iridescent green eye opened. Blinked. There was a murky clearness surrounding it. A single bubble, slowing rising as the eye watched. More moving, shifting. Discovering thin pipes, connecting liquids, small needles under its scales. It floated, in a... tube. Of glass. Glass, the voice inside it whispered, Is an easily shattered clear material, made from heated sand. The mind considered the voice, this... thing that enabled it to shape its thoughts into words. Where am I? the mind asked, waiting for an answer. The voice didn't know. It paused, hesitated, yet didn't think. It didn't... do that. She's coming. it said finally, which failed to satisfy the mind. Yet it accepted the answer, and returned its attention to the outside world. The faint clicks. Talons on a metal floor. Soft whirring, suddenly louder. Machines coming to life. It didn't know whether to appreciate the voice, or grow annoyed at the constant words. "Hello. You're awake." The mind paused for a moment, considering this new voice. It was high pitched, clear, holding confidence within. Female. This is the scientist. She will explain. It acknowledged this voice, the eyes blinking open again, one blue green orb, then the other. There was something outside of the murkiness, a vague shape of a brilliant color. This is orange. The voice explained patiently, before falling silent, waiting for the one that spoke aloud. There was tapping, clicking, louder mechanic noises as the shapeless orange manipulated her surroundings. "You might feel a bit disoriented at first, this isn't the normal way for someone to come into this world." The mind inquired about this, but the voice offered another unsatisfactory answer, She will explain. The liquid before it drained away, the murky, bubble filled medium suddenly being replaced by... nothingness. Not nothing, air. Clear, and contains oxygen, which the body needs to survive. The mind nodded, suddenly away of a body that it owned. Its ears had collected the sounds, its eyes the colors surrounding it. And now, its body, recognizing the pipes connected to needles under scales, the mind contained in this... fragile thing, perched atop a pillar of... Metal. The voice offered nothing more. Its eyes, the orbs that could see, blinked, erasing the clouded liquid from its sight. And focused, slowly, at a dragon waiting before it. This is the scientist. Remember her. She created you. And she needs you. Why? The mind asked. Once again, the answer that sparked some strange emotion, and twinge that made the mind want to yell. She will explain. The mind calmed itself, directing the eyes onto the scientist. She was dressed in white, a thin coat, covering up most of her. She is considered elegant. The eyes are brown. Wings are yellow. Her expression is patient. The mind accepted this. It explored the body it was in, identifying bits that the voice would explain. Tail. Wings. Talons. Foreleg. Spines. Horns. What you use to speak. To speak? To make a sound, like the dragon, like the world around it? You are a dragon too. The mind accepted this, tilting its head to acknowledge the voice's words. The dragon before it tilted her head as well, starting to speak again. "Why don't you come out? I'll explain while I walk with you." The glass in front of it slid aside, and the needles were removed from the minds awareness as mechanical arms plucked them out of its scales. Step down, walk. The voice whispered, sending small pulses that showed how. The mind obeyed, stepping down, one foot in front of the others, until it met cold floors under its talons, eyes fixed on the dragon, who smiled. "You seem more advanced than I realized. Come along, we need to go." The mind followed, willing its body to move. One foot, the other. Watching the flicking orange tail, following its movements. There was silence for some time, except it wasn't silence. Still the clicking, the beeping, chorusing of machines speaking in a language the mind didn't understand. It looked down, directing its eyes to talons it controlled. Clothed in white scales, each a soft sort of pristine. The voice could not offer a word for it, but instead came up with a simile that confused the mind further. Like snow. "I need you." The mind focused back on the dragon in front of it. She had stopped in front of a capsule, a white machine that, unlike the others, was silent. The mind acknowledged with with a tip of its head. The dragon watched, smiling. Not the amusing kind... the mind inquired, and the voice responded, after a pause. As if it was thinking. It's a wistful sort of smile. Wistful? The voice could not explain. It is an emotion. Machines are not meant to understand what dragons think. The mind questioned this, and the voice replied, You were not made to be curious. It feel silent, watching the orange dragon before it, waiting. "I named you Twelve." She started, suddenly, her voice taking on a different tone. "It really is complicated. But - it's what I created you to fix." She paused suddenly, waiting for the mind to absorb this information. It tilted its head. You should speak. The orange dragon waited, then continued on. "I was the thirteenth child of... a dragon. He was a great scientist. But - that's not important." She paused, sighed, and repeated words. This is the natural way many speak. But not you. Not me. "I... his twelfth daughter was his favorite. She was beautiful, and kind.." She continued, her eyes misting over. Nostalgia. The voice said, but there was something else in the word, a way the voice said it that was... different. Tentative, the mind recognized. The dragon paused, took at breath. "And well... one night he found her. Killed, in her bed." She watched the mind, stepping close. "I'm sorry to inform a soul so young about death but - it's... it's important. I need you." The mind inclined its head, accepting this, and she continued on. "He was... he went insane. Tried so, so, hard to bring her back. He did everything, reviving her body, find her 'soul,' even tried regrowing her in the lab, create a clone." The mind paused at this, looking back at the way it came. "Yes, like I did for you." She sighed, "And he destroyed the outside world. Experiments of his contaminated the world. And... I need you to go back. And fix it. Save his daughter, so he doesn't... so the future can be fixed." The mind began to object, yet she continued talking. "I created you, so you can survive the journey. I promise, I couldn't do it myself, or I would. Just... fix everything. Please." The mind felt... something, a whirl of emotions that the voice helped pick out. Amusement, a dragon asking her creation for help. Pity, for someone so desperate to go to these measures. Confusion, as to how you can do this. Terror, as for what lays ahead. The mind inclined its head again, then brought it up. A nod. "Oh, oh thank you!" The dragon gushed. "Please, just go. The machine will protect you. Fix the past, for me." She looked at the mind with pleading eyes, and a primitive part of the mind awakened. Its body slowly stepped into the machine. Do not worry, I am here with you. And I will protect you. The mind accepted the voice's promise, letting the doubt swirl into nothing. ---- The mind opened its eye like it always did. One opened, and then the other. The white walls of the machine surrounded it. Something felt... off. Of course you feel strange, you have traveled faster than light. I should not be able to survive it. And yet, the scientist made it possible. The mind considered this, and nodded, quietly agreeing. Now, come outside. The machine started whirring, a hatch seamlessly sliding open. The mind paused, and slowly directed its body to go outside. The mind stopped, suddenly, craning its neck to feel the light... this beautiful, shimmering natural brightness that fell across its scales. This is sunlight. The voice said, with a smile floating through. Isn't it nice? The mind didn't respond, soaking in the warmth as it slowly stepped the rest of the way out. What do I do now? Find the twelfth daughter. The mind complied, stepping down. It had landed in the yard of a small house, the thatched roof and white painted walls all bundled together into a quaint image. The mind slowly directed its body towards the door, and there it paused, uncertain. Wait until sunset. The killing occurred at night. The mind began to question this, but stopped, slowly stepping behind a bush, tucking itself smaller, to wait. ---- The moons glinted overhead, three hanging crescents rising in the sky. The mind twitched, slowly blinking open its eyes, lost for a moment. You were sleeping. It nodded, standing on shaky limbs. Slowly, the memories seeped back in. It was to stop a murder... a death that had twisted the world. Yes, that is correct. And that was the voice, that echoed in its head, bringing along information. A mental image unfolded. A right, a left, a turn, a pause. It replicated the movements, focusing carefully. Through an open doorway, up a flight of stairs. Towards the end of the hallway, a left, a turn, a duck, and suddenly it was tucked under some sort of furniture, almost pinned against the ground. Wait. It obeyed. There was a dragoness, only her golden tail snaking down from the bed into the mind's view. It watched with interest, until a slight creak squeaked out, just beyond the room. Tilting its head, it saw orange talons, slowly slipping forward. Orange... This wasn't right. This couldn't be right. The mind stretched its awareness, reaching farther towards the voice. All its thoughts swirled and formed into a single word: explain. No. It flinched back, and its body responded in turn, a creak its weight shifted. And the orange talons hesitated, and stilled. Something was breathing. A light, scarce noise, almost afraid to disturb the air. Then slowly, slowly, the orange talons shifted and knelt, the edge of a snout appearing in the mind's view. A snout gripping something flashing silver in its teeth. Kill her The command was a quiet whisper, but it repeated louder and louder and louder, as the chocolate brown eye appeared, quivering and blinking. The same eye that had looked down upon the mind years in the future, wistful yet with a Kill It obeyed. The claws lashed out, teeth clinked together, and suddenly the soft breath the dragon brought was gone. Disappeared in the quiet struggle, the struggle that never stirred the sleeping dragoness. The mind stared down at the bloodied mess before it, then turned away by some primal instinct. It stood, waiting for a moment. Nothing. It slowly walked through the house, back towards the machine. There was nothing. The voice didn't come. Didn't direct it or explain or radiate any emotion. It was gone, gone in the moment claws dug into flesh. The machine whirred to life, without any prompting from the mind. It glowed slightly in the night, allowing the mind one more look into the outside world before the hatch closed. And the world outside was gone. ---- It opened its eyes, in a forest. Surrounded by youthful trees, healthy green leaves filtering sunlight down. It blinked, surprised as something crunched underneath. The mind examined the curled, brown forms for a moment. The voice didn't come. It stood shakily, reaching out with a question, yet the voice didn't come. It walked slowly, looked around. There were noises. Sights. Pretty little things that it wanted the name of. The name didn't come. The voice was gone. It wasn't certain until now, but now this was clear. There was... something before, and now nothing. A void that the voice had once occupied. The mind tried to think about this, put it together with things that had no name, before settling slowly. It rested its head against the brown shriveled things, closing its eyes, letting that sweet thing called sleep take it away. To a place where it fit. Where nameless things and nameless selves were accepted, and questioning wasn't needed, at all. Category:Fanfictions Category:Content (Cloud the IceWing) Category:Genre (Short Story) Category:Fanfictions (Fanon) Category:Mature Content Category:Fanfictions (Completed)